Being Us: Answering the Pressing Need to Introspect Life

Introspection – it kind of sounds like either a pretty awesome thing or a downright boring thing to do, doesn’t it? Be it awesomeness or complete boredom, introspect we must. For that is how we grow, from inside out. Isn’t that how the plants grow – roots first, isn’t it how we all grow – from within the womb?!

So what is it that stops us from looking into our roots?

The answer would surprise you – we are the only ones who stop ourselves from looking within.

And why do we do that?

It is not as much as it is why as it is a how.

You see, the one thing that gets between us and ourselves is space. We need space to look within. We need time to dig within. And in a world where both are reducing at alarming speeds, the necessities of time and space have become a constraint.

Earth is experiencing an internal combustion of sorts because there is a dearth of space for just about everything she has created – natural life is dying while artificial life is thriving. The production and wastage cycle has replaced the production and reuse cycle of sustainability. This planet that is our only home is reducing to a giant mass of gigantic chaos.

The global network has become an oxymoron. It has both grown exponentially and shrunk everything irrevocably, at the same time. There is an information overload. Everyone is expected to know everything. So everyone is busy trying to learn everything.

And we humans are reflecting this chaos from within

Cancer and depression – two words that need not be, are knocking on every doorstep because of our unregulated, chaos of a lifestyle. We are constantly doing something. If we are not picking at an activity, we are picking at each other.

We think that keeping ourselves working is the way to move forward. But are we keeping ourselves working or pushing ourselves to work? How much of what we are doing is something that we really need to do? Is what we are learning, something that we really need to learn? How much of what we are accumulating inside our brain is something that really needs to be there – in our private space?

So what is it that is happening within this private space that is the Brain?

The human brain is a marvelous piece of engineering. The wiring begins around the time the brain forms within the womb. But the wiring is in its primitive form until we land in the world outside screaming at the idea of it all.

As we grow, so does our brain. We are constantly wiring it and rewiring it as we keep making and forming new connections through our learning of this outside world. We learn everything from associating the word “Mommy” with that beauty of a being to associating “Daddy” with that comedian of a being.

The rate at which the brain makes its connections is amazing

That is because our thoughts move at an incredible speed – a speed that is faster than light. It is only obvious that this speed is the result of our neural networks wiring themselves at extremely high-speeds to feed our thoughts.

The more information we upload into our brain, the faster and wider will be the brain’s internal wiring. The faster and wider the wiring, the greater and louder will be our thinking. You can see how all those innovations, artwork, opinions, judgments and other stuff is coming from.

The question is not how much information the brain can take, but where is all this information taking us?

You will realize that if you analyze all the information that you are injecting into your head, at least of half of everything that goes in, is also something that is not required.

So where does all of this leave us?

Back to square one – as we make more time and space for everything and everyone around us, the lesser is the time and space we make for ourselves. And that is how the space and time constraint comes into position.

Why do we need time and space for ourselves in the first place?

We need time and space to work out who we are, what we want to do, what we can do, and what we cannot do. There is a need for time and space to figure ourselves out. We need time and space to be us – not that person who is working our arse off, not that mother or father attending to our child’s every need, not that friend who has to constantly chatter and roam around, not that child who has to shift from one activity to another, not that soul who wants to be someone or want something constantly, not that…anybody…

We need time and space to be ourselves, and be with ourselves. For at the end of a lifetime, we are all faced with the very same, one common situation – Death – a situation where no one accompanies us, a situation when it is time to become our own best company.

How do we become our very own best friends?

To introspect life is to figure ourselves out. And to do this, we have to have a nice chat with us. It is as simple as sitting down for a cup of coffee in the presence of good company, the good company being you. Except the whole thing is happening inside your head.

If you find the idea a challenge, try imagining a cup of hot, piping coffee. You will notice that you will be able to see, smell, and feel the cuppa, all in your mind’s eye. If it is not that hard to imagine a cup of coffee, how hard do you think it will be to imagine enjoying a conversation with yourself?!

Here’s to some of the most amazing conversations with You! Here’s to being You!

Dear You, I am a writer and I specialize in Dark Spaces. As a child I explored the unknown through my reading. Now, as an adult, I traverse the spheres of fiction and non-fiction through my understanding of this unknown space that exists both within and around us. Join me in my travels as we grow together through discovery, acceptance and progression.

Subscribe to Knowing You

change is right around the corner. follow it on

Introspect Life

We are constantly searching for things that would lend better meaning to our lives. It could be wealth, health or attitude – all of which can be achieved if we are able to understand things from a different perspective. This blog is about learning to achieve that perspective shift through the journey of self-introspection. My articles and stories are aimed at helping both you and I enter and stay in that zone.

Stories for the Soul

Leaning back on her arm-chair, the woman failed to feel the comfort that the chair was offering her. How could she enjoy any ounce of comfort through the intense frustration that was strangling her tighter and tighter with every passing moment?! The woman looked around her, and at the almost empty office space. Everyone else […]

Who am I? it asked The little girl spun around to face the voice, She caught sight of the darkness Who am I? the Darkness wondered, Happy that someone had heard it at last Why, you are the darkness, didn’t you know?!, Answered the little girl Disappointed, the darkness turned to go, Wait, I am […]

The little boy stood in the corner, watching the other children play. He had come down from his home on the second floor when he heard the children talking downstairs. He desperately wanted to play with the kids, and be a part of the gang. But that wish had never materialized so far. Soon enough, […]